Thursday on the U.S. Senate floor, Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) reacted to reports that Attorney General Jeff Sessions would no longer honor an Obama era agreement of non-interference with marijuana state laws.
Transcript as follows:
Up until about 8:58 this morning, we believed in Colorado that states rights would be protected. Up until 8:58, maybe 8:55, until Twitter told us otherwise, we believed the will of Colorado voters would be respected. Why did we believe that? Well conversations I had Prior to Jeff Sessions prior to his confirmation to—I asked him what would happen to Colorado’s marijuana policy. He told me there was no plan to reverse the Cole memorandum. Senator Sessions then said it wouldn’t be on President Trump’s agenda. That it wouldn’t be something that they would deal with, that it wasn’t something that President Trump was going to focus on. That was back in the spring of 2016 and up until 8:58 this morning that was the policy. One tweet later, one policy later, a complete reversal of what many of us on the Hill were told before the confirmation, what we had continued to believe the last year, and without any notification, conversation, or dialogue with Congress, completely reversed. Now, perhaps the Department of Justice didn’t think this would be a big deal. I understand Jeff Sessions, Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ opposition to marijuana, of legalization of marijuana. I opposed the legalization of marijuana in Colorado.
We were told that states rights would be protected. And not just by the attorney general, then the nominee to be attorney general. We were told that by then-candidate Donald Trump. In fact, in Colorado in July of 2016, President Trump was asked this question. When asked if President Trump, then candidate Trump, would use federal authority to shut down sales of recreational marijuana, then candidate Trump said, quote, ‘I wouldn’t do that.’ When asked if he thinks that Colorado should be allowed to do what it’s doing. Then candidate Trump said ‘It is up to the states absolutely.’ That was candidate Trump’s position. I would like to know from the attorney general what has changed. What has changed President Trump’s mind—that it would be reversed and rescinded? What has changed the president’s mind?
Why is Donald Trump thinking differently than what he promised the people of Colorado in 2016 that reversed course today? I think the people of Colorado deserve to have that answer. Without the Cole memorandum, they are operating under a cloud of uncertainty. Thousands of jobs at risk, millions of dollars in revenue, and certainly the question of constitutional states rights, very much at the core of this discussion. Because I believe what happened today was a trampling of Colorado’s rights, its voters, and, sure, this is a heavily debated issue, something that I already said I opposed, but the people of Colorado spoke, they spoke loudly. And I believe if the same question were asked today, they would have even more support for the decision they made back several years ago. I agree with President Trump, that this decision should be left up to the people of Colorado and so other states.
I call on Attorney General Sessions to explain to me why President Trump was wrong in 2016 and what changed their minds. And that they reverse their decision to withdraw and rescind the Cole memorandum and restate it and until that happens, I think I am obligated by the people of Colorado to take all steps necessary to protect the state of Colorado and their rights. And that’s why I will be putting today a hold on every single nomination from the Department of Justice until Attorney General Jeff Sessions lives up to the commitment that he made to me in my confirmation—in my pre-confirmation meeting with him, the conversation that we had that was specifically about this issue of states rights in Colorado. Until he lives up to that commitment, I will be holding all nominations to the Department of Justice. The people of Colorado deserve answers. The people of Colorado deserve their will to be respected.
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
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